Spindle and bearing therefor



(No Model.)

J. W. WATTLES.

. SPINDLE AND BEARING THEREFOR.

No. 415,336. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

a i l N. PETERS. Phnlcilthogmphur. Washinglan. D. c.

'NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JOSEPH IVARREN \VAFLES, OF CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPINDLE AND BEARING THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,336, dated November 19, 1889.

Application filed August 5, 1889. Serial No. 319,774- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH WARREN WAT- TLES, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Canton, county of Norfolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spindles and in the Bearings Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, while relating generally to that class of spindles and bearings in which the spindle is mounted upon a verticallyyielding step and the bolster is immovably held in its holder, has reference more particularly to those forms of such devices in which the step is made of a soft yielding filamentous material, and the spindle, in consequence of such yielding property, is permitted to travel laterally at its lower end to accomniodate itself to the action of an unbalanced load, its object being .to provide means not only for preventing the spindle from wearing or working its way down into the soft yielding material composing the step beyond a certain distance, and limiting the lateral movement of its lower end, whether such movement be caused by the act-ion of the band or otherwise, but also for more thoroughly lubricating the spindle-bearings and preventing both the waste of the lubricant and the fluttering of the spindle when in operation.

To these ends the invention consists, first, in a collar applied in connection with a spindle at or nearits lower end, whereby a stop is provided for preventing it both from settling down into the step and from moving laterally beyond certain limits; second, in the peculiarit-ies of construction of the bolster,

through which the circulation of the lubricant is facilitated, and, third, in the combination, with the spindle, the bolster-tube, and the holder for the latter, of a sleeve for surrounding the upper end of the bolster-tube to prevent the wasting of the lubricant, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a view of a spindle, a bolster-tube, a step, a bolster-tube holder, and a sleeve, the several parts, with the exception of the spindle, which is also broken out in its upper portion, being shown in section; Fig. 2, a sectional detail of portions of the spindle, the bolster-tube, the step, and a collarof a slight ly-modified construction; and Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken through the pin which holds the bolster-tube from rotation.

In all the figures like letters are employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates the holder, by means of which the spindle and its adjuncts are or may be supported and held in operative position. This holder may be constructed in various ways. The form which I have selected for exemplification of my invention, however, is of a well-known type, and consists of an upper portion a, having a reservoir a located therein for the reception of the lubricant, and of a lower or depending portion a in which is formed a cylindrical chamber or bore 0.", extending axially of the same from a point near its lower end upward to the bottom of the reservoir a, with which it connects, a screw-thread a being formed in the outer surface of this latter or depending portion, with which engages a suitable nut a whereby the holder may be clamped to its supporting-rail.

13 indicates the bolster-tube, which, like the holder A, is also provided with a cylindrical chamber or bore 17, extending axially of the same from a point near its lower extremity to its upper end. This bolster-tube is made of the proper size and shape to adapt it to accurately fit the chamber or bore a in which it is arranged, Without being capable of any lateral movement therein, and is of a length to permit of its lower end resting upon the bottom thereof and its upper end extending some distance above the upper portion a, of the holder, as shown. Fitted to rotate in this chamber or bore b is the spindle 0, upon which the usual bobbin (not shown) is carried. of the ordinary and well-known forms may be adopted. I prefer, however, to construct it with its upper and under port-ions c 0' made tapering from a short cylindrical portion at its middle toward its ends, and to provide it with a suitable whirl 0 whereby it may be rotated, the said whirl being formed or supported upon the lower end of a short sleeve ciwhich extends downward around the upper In the construction of this spindle any end of the bolster-tube and is fixedly secured at its upper'end to the spindle. As thus constructed and arranged, the spindle rests at its lower end upon the step D, which in its preferred form of construction consists of felt disks cl, superposed one on the other in the lower end of the chamber or bore 1); but any other equivalent soft and yielding ma terial may be employed for the purpose, if desired.

The portion of the spindle which co-operates with the upper end of the bolster-tube for an inch or more of its length is made of the proper diameter to accurately fit the chamber or bore 17 therein; but its lower end, in consequence of the under portion being made tapering, is very much smaller than said chamber or bore, thereby permitting, if not restrained, not only of an undue gyration of the spindle and drawing of it to one side by the action of the band thereon, but also of the wearing or working of its lower end down into the material out of which the step is formed to such a distance as to destroy the latter. To obviate these defects, a collar 0 of a diameter slightly less than the interior of the chamber or bore, is fixedly secured to the spindle at a short distance from its lower extremity, which, while permitting of the spindle gyrating or being drawn to one side to a certain extent and of wearing or working down into the step to a slight distance, will either strike the interior of the chamber or bore in the one case, or else rest upon the upper surface of the step in the other, when these limits are reached, and thereby prevent their being exceeded.

In order to provide for the lubrication of the bearing, and at the same time prevent the fluttering, as it is called, of the spindle, due to the action of the air when confined in the bolster-tube on the spindle when the'latter is in rotation, the bolster-tube, in addition to the duct 1), leading from the bottom of the chamber or bore Z) through its lower end, is also provided in its outer surface with the grooves 19 which extend downward from points slightly above the bottom of the reservoir a to its lower end, and are connected with the chamber or bore Z) through the intermediaries of the ducts 19 leading through its walls at different elevations, as shown. By these means provisions are made for. the free passage of the lubricant from the reservoir to the bearings at the points where required, and of the escape of the air. from the interior of the bolster-tube, thereby insuring the complete and efficient lubrication of the bearing, as well as the removal of the cause of the fluttering of the spindle.

Since the spindle gradually increases in diameter from its lower end upward to the part which takes lateral bearing against the bolster, the tendency of the lubricant supplied to the bearings is to work up along the spindle through the action of centrifugal force until the whirl is reached, whence it is thrown off into space and is wasted. With a view to overcoming this objection, the chamber or bore 1) is provided in its walls near their upper end with a circumferential groove 6 which communicates with. the outside of the bolster-tube through ducts I), to arrest the upward movement of the lubricant upon the spindle and cause its return to the reservoir a through the ducts b and the outside of the bolster-tube; and in order to prevent the movement of the air, due to the action of the sleeve, the whirl, and that portion of the spindle extending upward from the circumferential groove b to the point where the sleeve is connected to said spindle thereon, when such parts are in relation, from drawing back and throwing off the lubricant so returning to the reservoir, a sleeve E, encircling the upper end of the bolster-tube, is employed, which, resting at its lower end upon the bottom of the reservoir a, extends upward within the sleeve 0 of the whirl to a point slightly above the upper extremity of the bolster-tube, and thereby not only accomplishes the result specified, but also serves as a protector for the lubricant. This sleeve may be made either of uniform diameter throughout or with the part resting within the reservoir 0, of larger diameter than the portion above; but, however constructed, it will preferably be provided with notches or holes e in or near its lower end, as shown.

The bolster-tube will in most instances be fitted to the holder A sufficiently tight to be held from rotation therein by the friction between the parts; but, if preferred, any of the ordinary and well-known means may be employed for holding it-such, for instance, as a pin f passing through the walls of the latter and engaging with one of the grooves b in the former.

In Fig. 2 is shown a slightly-modified arrangement of parts, the collar in this embodiment of my invention being made of a size to fit the interior of the chamber or bore 1), and the central aperture through the same is of a diameter slightly larger than the portion of the spindle passing therethrough, in order to permit of the latter moving laterally therein. With this construction the spindle may have its lower portion reduced in diameter, if desired, and provided with a shoulder c for co-operation with the collar 0 to pre-- vent the spindle from wearing or working down into the step beyond a certain limit.

The foregoing description sets forth the 'best means contemplated by me for carrying my invention into practice; but I wish it distinctly understood that I do not limit myself strictly thereto, as it is obvious that the same may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination, with a spindle, a bolster-tube, and a step made from a soft yielding material, of a collar for limiting the lateral movement of the spindle at its lower end and the wear or working of the same down into the material out of which the step is formed, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a bolster-tube and a step made from soft yielding material, of a spindle provided with a collar fixedly secured to its lower end, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a holder having a reservoir for lubricant at its upper end, a bolster-tube fitted to said holder and provided with a circumferential groove around the upper end of its contained chamber or bore, and ducts leading therefrom to its outer surface, and a spindle, of a sleeve surrounding the upper end of the bolster-tube and resting in said reservoir, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a spindle 0, provided with a collar 0 near its lower end, of a bolster-tube B, having the chamber or bore 1), and a step D, made of soft yielding material, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a holder A, provided with a reservoir a at its upper end, a bolster-tube having the chamber or bore 1), the grooves 12 leading from said reservoir, and the ducts 12 b and the step D, of the spindle C, as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination, with the holder A, provided with the reservoir a, the bolster-tube B, having the chamber or bore b, the circumferential groove b, and the ducts b and the spindle 0, provided with the whirl c and sleeve 0 of the sleeve E, surrounding the upper end of the bolster-tube and resting upon the bottom of said reservoir, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of August, 1889.

JOSEPH WARREN WATTLES.

Witnesses:

N. W. DUNBAR, WALTER AMEs; 

